Can you name the Seven Dwarfs? If you say Doc, Dopey, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy and Happy, you have shown what an enduring hold this beloved film has on Americans. For the dwarfs had no names in Grimm's 19th-century fairy tale. The film in which Walt Disney named them is celebrating its golden anniversary this Christmas, and Snow White now has her own star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame." Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most popular films in history. An estimated 500 million moviegoers have seen it since its 1937 premiere. Last summer it was reissued for the seventh time -— and it became the first film ever shown simultaneously in more than 6o countries (including the U.S.S.R. and China).
After the 50-year-old film had been filling America's theaters for nearly three weeks, a New York Times editorial urged people to "look at those seven dwarfs" again, since Snow White "can't be tarnished – either by time or cynicism."
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